


First Kiss - Book Three - Joe and Ben

by BettyHT



Series: First Kiss [3]
Category: Bonanza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 05:12:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16382072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BettyHT/pseuds/BettyHT
Summary: The third story in the First Kiss series has Joe still scheming. Of course Ben won't scheme, but that doesn't mean he won't be affected by the schemes Joe has hatched. The story of Adam and Anita continues first as the catalyst for a scheme and then as a crisis envelops the two.





	First Kiss - Book Three - Joe and Ben

First Kiss-Book Three: Joe and Ben

Chapter 1

All the signs were there. Joe was smiling a lot, and he didn't even complain about having extra work to do because Adam was hurt and then gone. He was up in the morning without anyone having to roust him out of bed. It was unnatural or perhaps natural if one considered that it was the cycle with which they were all so very familiar. Joe was in love again or at least infatuated again. With his mind on love, he couldn't be contrary as Hoss would remind everyone. Instead, he often stood with a dreamy look and then sighed. However as the week progressed especially after Joe spent a day in town getting supplies and taking two hours longer than necessary to do that, he got more introspective and quiet than was usual for Joe unless he was scheming or worried. Sometimes it was a bit of both. Hoss had to find out. He found out it was a bit of both when Joe came into his room one night to talk.

"Hoss, she's wonderful. She's just the right kind of girl for me. She's pretty, of course, but she listens to me, and she's quiet and smart, and she likes horses."

"So what's wrong then, little brother?"

"Who says anything's wrong? I didn't say anything was wrong."

"No, ya didn't say it, but ifn there wasn't, there'd be talk of wedding bells already. There ain't, so something must be wrong."

"Well, there is maybe this one little problem. She thinks I'm a little wild for her. You see, Hoss, she's heard stories. You know how people like to gossip. They've told her stories about me, and well, she believes them, or at least enough of them to think I may be too much of a risk taker for her."

"Joe, ya gotta admit ya take a few crazy risks now and then."

"You see, it's talk like that scaring her about me. That's what's making it difficult for me to get close to her. Now, her mother took over that new dry goods store where she does sewing on the side. I was thinking that if we could get her mother out here to do some measuring and such, maybe her daughter would be willing to come along. Then, I could show her all the work I do around here."

"All the work you do!"

"Yeah, all the work I do! And stop interrupting. I thought maybe I could be working at the forge when they got here. You know, I could have my shirt off and kinda show off a bit for her too."

"Listen, Little Joe, that may work for Adam, but he's got fifty pounds of muscle on you. You might just convince her that you're a mite too skinny for her ifn you was ta do that."

"Hmm, you might be right. I can keep my shirt on and open it all the way. It would have the same general effect without showing that I'm not so big. In fact, with my shirt open, I'd look a little bigger. Hey, Hoss, that's a great idea."

"So now you need a reason to get her out here with her mother. I don't think you telling Pa we need new curtains is gonna do the trick."

"Yeah, I've been thinking that too. That's the problem. I can't think of anything, and I have to come up with something because I need to get her out here if I'm going to have a chance with her. She's too pretty, and someone else is going to be courting her soon otherwise."

"Now there's the words I was expecting ta hear. You haven't even been alone with her once, and you're talking courting."

"Hoss, you see her once, and you'll know why. Now help me think of a reason why we need new curtains. I suppose an accidental fire to burn up the ones in my room wouldn't be a good idea, huh?"

"Nah, ya cain't do that. Might burn the house down. Nope, you'll have ta think of something better'n that. Why don't ya sleep on it? We kin talk more tomorrow. Maybe we kin come up with something then."

Leaving Hoss' room, Joe had met his father in the hall. He denied that he and Hoss had been plotting anything because so far, they were only hoping to plot something. Well, actually, Joe was hoping they would figure out a plot. They hadn't actually come up with a plan or plot yet so he told his father the truth in the words he used if not the spirit of the conversation. He hurried to his bedroom before he twisted himself into saying something that wasn't true. He slept well though because he had Hoss on his side, and thought that whenever Hoss was on his side, he was likely to come out a winner.

Many miles away, Adam wasn't sleeping at all. His first day on the stagecoach had been decidedly unpleasant. Sitting or leaning, he couldn't find a comfortable position that night and hardly slept at all. The next day, the ride was worse because he was already uncomfortable before he ever got on the stage. The driver had wanted some men to ride on top because it was so crowded and had selected him because he had ridden inside the day before, but he claimed his broken rib as a reason he couldn't making two of the other passengers quite unhappy with him. One was the man who had to spend another day riding up top, and the other was his wife who did her best to make Adam's ride that day even more unpleasant than it already was. She found reasons to complain that his legs were too long and impinged on her space. She complained that he breathed too loudly and in general was unwelcome in their midst. The other passengers didn't want to become her target so they stayed out of the way and mostly said nothing for the entire trip. By the time Adam reached Reno, he was too exhausted to think of boarding the train. He took a hotel room and slept so late the next morning that he missed the train for that day too. The following morning, he got a ticket but only for Salt Lake City. Although he hoped the rocking of the train would be soothing, he feared it might not be and found it wasn't. In his condition, he spent another day resting in Salt Lake City before he decided to brave the rest of the journey and bought a ticket to take him to Denver. By the time he arrived in Denver, he walked like he had too much to drink. The driver of the carriage he hired wondered about that until he helped him into the carriage and realized there was no odor or alcohol about him at all. Adam explained that he had been injured and that the trip had exhausted him. The driver took him to the fine hotel he requested and helped him inside. Adam paid him and tipped him generously. He got a room and the driver helped him to walk there.

"Could you come back in two days about ten in the morning? I will need a ride, and you are trustworthy. If you could be here in the morning, I would appreciate that, and I would hire you for the day."

The driver agreed to do that, and Adam undressed partially before collapsing in the bed. The next morning, he ordered a bath and soaked until he felt somewhat better. Then he fell back into bed and slept for hours. When he awoke, it was already almost dark. He ordered a light dinner and sat up for a few hours thinking about what he would do. Then he slept more. By the time the driver arrived the next morning, he felt much better. Shaved, rested, and dressed in his better clothing, he headed to the address he had for Anita.

When Adam arrived at the Carter residence, Anita wasn't there, but her father was although he was in a hurry to get to a meeting.

"Adam, it is very good to see you. I know Anita will be thrilled. She has spoken of you often and has been pestering me to go back to Virginia City."

"I'd like to see her too."

"She's out for the day though. I doubt she will be back before seven. We're having a party here tomorrow, and she's having a dress fitted. I don't know why it takes so long, but it does. Tomorrow, she'll be busy with the preparations for the party and then getting dressed for it. Now, I'll have an invitation sent to you if you tell me where you're staying. You can come, can't you?"

"I would be pleased." Although, he was less than pleased because he had hoped to see Anita in a more private setting. However, seeing her was what was most important so if that was the earliest opportunity, he was going to take it. He had the day to get himself formal wear so he had his driver take him to a tailor. He hadn't expected such an occasion so he had not packed his formal clothing. The tailor was concerned about the strapping that was still around his ribs, but Adam said it was necessary. Paul had told him at least three weeks so he had more than a full week left before he could even consider removing it. He told the tailor to fit him with the strapping because he could always have the coat taken in when the strapping was gone. It was going to cost him extra too to get the work done by the next morning. He agreed to come back for the final fitting and any necessary adjustments. He found his driver outside and asked him to take him to a jewelry shop. He made a purchase there after quite a bit of looking and some bargaining. Then he went to dinner and then back to his hotel. His driver was quite happy with being paid for another full day, and was engaged for the following day as well. The next morning, it was back to the tailor after breakfast and then he had a late lunch. Finally it was a long wait before he went to the party. He didn't want to arrive early knowing that Anita was the hostess for the party. She would be greeting all the guests and would be quite busy for the first hour or two. He wanted to be able to talk with her so he wanted to arrive when her duties as hostess were nearly done. It was just before nine when he presented his invitation at the door to a smiling butler who inclined his head and opened the door for him. Mister Carter had told all the servants that the rancher from Nevada with whom his daughter was infatuated was going to be arriving that night. None of them expected the tall, dark handsome man in the elegant attire who strode confidently up the front walk to be that one.

Anita stood with her back to the front door unaware that Adam had arrived. Her father had not told her knowing she would not have been able to do much of anything else if she had known Adam was in town. When she heard her name spoken in that rich baritone voice, she spun around nearly falling and was grasped by two powerful arms.

"I guess you're surprised to see me."

Adam grimaced a bit though as she threw her arms around him. "What's wrong?"

"It's a long story, but I have a broken rib. It's all right though if you don't squeeze so hard, thank you."

Stepping back and aware that nearly everyone was now watching them, Anita took his hands. "Can you dance?"

"I can dance. Would you like to dance with me? I like this song."

So they danced slowly around the dance floor as word of who he was slowly filtered through the crowd and smiles replaced the frowns and questioning looks. The general opinion seemed to be that if she had picked a cowboy, she certainly had picked a debonair one. When they finished dancing, they walked out on the patio and stood in the light of the lanterns lit out there.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I wasn't sure that I would get here by a specific date. I had to take it easy on the way. It took longer because of the broken rib."

"What happened?"

"You do know how I've told you that Joe and Hoss like to scheme. I let myself get dragged into another one of their hare-brained schemes. As my father pointed out to me, as an educated and intelligent man, I ought to know better. I got the worst of it. It did work out for Hoss though. He has met a woman he likes very much. Now, about us."

"Yes, what about us?"

"I don't like you living here. I missed you terribly."

"I missed you too."

"If we are to have a chance of a future together, you have to live in Virginia City."

"I agree."

"Your father has a house there. You could easily move into that."

"Yes, I could."

"We could see each other often then."

"Yes, we could. I would like that."

"You're being very agreeable."

"Yes, I am. Being here without you has given me a lot of time to think and especially about some of the things we talked about. You said I was pushy sometimes and talked before I thought. You were right, but I think I know why. I was scared. I'm not that way when I'm with you more. I know that when I feel safe, I don't feel the need to push back or talk back. Father says I was like that as a child too. He says I was so sweet at home, but when I went to school, I was pushy and argumentative."

"Perhaps being female and being small, you felt you had to assert yourself more."

"I think the small had a lot to do with it then. Now being female especially when I'm around men who are rough and perhaps a bit scary, it's even worse."

"Like the first day we met?"

"Exactly. I was afraid of you so I wanted to push you away."

"And now?"

"I want you very close, as close as you can get."

Stepping to the side of the patio shielded by some shrubbery, Adam pulled Anita close to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck and being careful of his ribs, she pressed against him as she waited for the kiss she knew was coming. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and then dropped down to kiss her neck making her almost beg for the kiss before he slowly kissed his way up her neck to her lips and then pressed firmly against them and held that kiss as she responded. His hands found the back of her neck and her upper back which were bare and he lightly caressed them as he kissed her until he had to break the kiss.

"We have to stop of I won't be able to walk back in there without embarrassing myself. As it is, let's sit on a bench and talk for a bit."

They did go in later and danced more and Anita introduced Adam around the room as they met more and more of her father's business associates. Some of them had heard of the Ponderosa and a few had met Ben so there was less surprise then about Adam. By the end of the evening, Adam and Anita had made plans for the next day. Franklin was pleased. He had hoped that Anita and Adam would have a joyous reunion, and from all appearances, it had gone well. He had a business proposition to make to Adam that he hoped would foster both Adam's relationship with Anita and help the Carter family fortune too.

Chapter 2

The next day, Adam found that Franklin was going to be somewhat of an impediment to his plans. Anita had made a commitment to be a hostess for several dinners that he was hosting over the next week, and Franklin insisted it was too late for him to find someone else to fill in. He didn't think it was too much of an imposition for Adam to wait for one week as he could spend time with Anita during the day and most evenings, and he even provided the couple with tickets to several performances that they could attend on nights when he was not hosting a dinner. As a further inducement, he suggested that Adam should be at the dinners too to meet the men with whom Franklin intended to do business.

"I value your opinion, Adam. You can tell me after the dinner what you think of each man. You won't have to sit in your hotel room alone, and you can be with Anita even if it is in the company of us old stodgy businessmen. Besides, Anita has told me that you have a broken rib. Won't an extra week or so here in Denver make the trip back to Virginia City go a bit smoother? Your rib will be that much more healed by then."

To Adam, it seemed a reasonable concession if not even a good idea, so he accepted the offer. However Anita wondered about it and talked to Adam about that when they were together later that day.

"I think Papa is up to something. He likes to work deals, and he gets this look when he's working one. He has that look now."

"What kind of deal could he be working?"

"I don't know, and that's what worries me."

"Well, he can't manipulate me or force me to do anything."

"No, he doesn't usually do that to anyone. He usually cajoles people into doing things by making it look so good, they can't turn him down. Most of the time, it is a good deal too. Papa doesn't intentionally hurt anyone. He hasn't gotten where he is by climbing over the backs of other people. That's why he gets along so well with so many in the business community. He's that rare one that everyone can trust, but he doesn't trust them so they have to be straightforward with him if they want to make a deal."

"So he doesn't trust me?"

"Probably not entirely at least not yet. I'm not sure what it will take for him to trust you, but you coming here to see me did a lot to help that cause. I'm sure of that. He liked the commitment that showed. I could tell by how he talked about you after you left."

They enjoyed the week getting to know each other better with no one to interfere in their time. They got to talk, to relax together, and to spend time at the theater with others who appreciated the same events. They did get to have a romantic dinner for the two of them and Adam presented Anita with a gold and diamond necklace. She was thrilled with it, but when she showed her father, she could tell that he was disappointed that it wasn't an engagement ring. She told him to be patient as she and Adam needed time to get to know each other better. He thought they knew each other well enough, but knew both were too stubborn to push into anything. It was a full week before Franklin made his pitch to Adam and Anita. It was a dinner for the three of them with Adam hoping that Franklin would give his permission for his daughter to leave the following week perhaps even on Monday. He did but with a catch.

"I have an offer to make to the two of you. I have found that I enjoy Denver. I like the convenience of everything here and the lifestyle. I prefer living here to Virginia City or San Francisco. However, I still have business interests in both of those places. Now, I do not have a son to whom I can entrust those entities. However, Anita is smart and talented. I would like her to start overseeing those operations."

"But, Papa, I don't have any experience doing that."

"Yes, and that is my next point. I want Adam to agree to be a an executive in our operation to assist you and to make sure that you can do the job. If he would travel with you when you need to go to San Francisco, I would feel better about that too as I do not feel comfortable with the idea of you traveling alone and being in that city alone. I have employees I trust but none I trust enough to take care of you. Adam, I trust with you."

"I still have responsibilities on the Ponderosa."

"I'm not asking you to forego those. I know though that you are not using many of the talents you have by working on a ranch. I am offering you a chance to use the talents and skills you have and to stay with your family too. I believe you wish to do both. I think I have found a way for you to accomplish that."

Adam's first inclination was to be angry. He was offended that Franklin had so easily apparently figured out his dilemma and now had offered him a solution. An independent man, he didn't like having someone else doing things like that for him. It irritated him.

Anita was concerned seeing how Adam reacted. "What's wrong?"

"He's irritated that I have suggested something for him to do. I suppose he prefers coming up with his own ideas."

All of that was true, but Adam had another concern. "That could complicate my relationship with Anita and put a lot of pressure on us."

"It could, but I have confidence that the two of you can work through any difficulties. If you can't, then I guess the relationship wasn't meant to last."

"Is this a test then?"

"It could be, but I did not mean it to be. I meant it to be a solution to a set of issues among us. I want to stay in Denver. Anita wishes to return to Virginia City to be closer to you. You are frustrated in your current situation."

After thinking for a short time, Adam nodded and looked to Anita. "Are you comfortable with this?"

"I like the idea. I can do it if you help me. I know I can."

Looking back at Franklin, Adam rolled his eyes a little at the triumphant smile the man had. "When can we get this formalized then?"

"I can ask my lawyers to draw up all the necessary papers and authorizations on Monday. We can have them and get them all signed on Tuesday. Then the two of you can be on your way."

"All right. I'll let my family know that we might be back by Saturday. We'll stay at the Ponderosa until we can get your house in town aired out and ready. I assume we'll have to hire a staff for Anita and get some basic things stocked up there."

"Yes, I would assume so." Franklin smiled at the use of 'we' that Adam employed. He was already committed to the venture even if he seemed reluctant. Franklin had no doubt that Adam was going to enjoy all of this. He knew so much about mining and business that most of the decisions especially for the first year or so were going to be his. Anita would have to defer to his judgment on almost everything. However, by making those good business decisions based on his advice, her standing would rise too. In time, she would learn and the pair of them could be formidable. Carter Enterprises was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the west. It might be Carter & Cartwright Enterprises someday too, and that would be even better as far as he was concerned.

When Adam's news got to the Ponderosa, Joe was thrilled because it gave him an idea of how to get his gal and her mother out to the Ponderosa. He threw the idea out to his father the morning after Adam's telegram had arrived.

"Pa, if Anita is going to be staying here again, shouldn't we think about having one of the guest rooms done up more for a lady. I mean, they're all kinda set up more for men to use. She would probably feel more comfortable here if there was more a lady-like room for her to use."

"Oh, and do you know how to make a room more lady-like so she would feel more comfortable in it?"

"Well, no, Pa, I don't, but there's that lady that owns the dry goods store in town, and I heard she does curtains and decorating for people. I thought maybe she could come out here and measure the windows and the bed and get some new curtains and stuff for the bed ready for Anita. I mean she has almost a week to do it."

"Almost a week to do it? Joe, if she came out here today, she would only have until Saturday. Today is Tuesday. That is less than five days."

"Well, maybe I ought to ride into town right after breakfast then and see if she can come out so she can get all the time there is to do it."

Looking at Hoss, Ben wondered if there was more going on that he knew. "And what do you think of your brother's plan?"

"I ain't got no opinion either way, Pa. Whatever you two want to do is fine with me."

That stopped Ben from thinking the two of them were in cahoots on some kind of scheme. If they were, he thought that Hoss would back up Joe's request. Taking a neutral stand made it appear that Joe was sincere in wanting to do something nice for Anita. It was a nice thought.

"All right, Joe. What you suggested does make sense. You can go ask the lady, and if she thinks she can get the job done by Saturday, then you can make the arrangements."

"Uh, Pa, she might have to come out after she closes up her shop. Can I tell her she can have dinner with us so she doesn't have to worry about that?"

"Of course you can do that. That may save her some time so that's a good idea too. Go ahead now and finish your breakfast before it gets cold."

"Yessir, I will. Hop Sing, this is one of the best breakfasts you ever made."

Hop Sing was pleased though surprised by the praise for making the usual breakfast. Joe's enthusiasm made Ben wonder again what his youngest could possibly have cooked up, but nothing he had suggested seemed in the least suspicious. Ben shrugged and sipped his coffee. Only time would tell.

That afternoon about four, Joe escorted in one of the most handsome women Ben had seen in a long time. She had silver gray hair neatly tied back and classic features that he was sure someone must have sculpted in marble. She had exquisite eyes that were framed by dark lashes that were all the more dramatic with the silver gray brows and silver gray hair. Her skin was like ivory and it was clear she was seldom in the sun because there were few wrinkles except by her eyes and her mouth showing she smiled frequently as she did when she met Ben. Her smile was the kind that could light up a room. Hoss stood open mouthed by Ben's side as introductions were made. Joe's eyes were only for the daughter who was pretty, but her mother was a beauty. When she spoke, she had a voice that was lower than many but full and rich promising that she probably sang beautifully too.

"I'm so pleased to meet you, Mister Cartwright. So many in town have spoken so highly of you."

"Please call me Ben."

"And you call me Miriam, if you will. Now, Bethany and I need to get to work if we're going to finish this job by Saturday morning for you."

"I can help you with the measuring. Let's let Joe show Bethany around the place. I'm sure he has all sorts of interesting things to show her. I know what I would like you to do so I can help you with the bedroom."

Hoss almost snorted with all of that but managed to keep his thoughts to himself and waited until his father escorted Miriam up the stairs and Joe walked outside with Bethany before he burst out with laughter. He headed to the kitchen to share his thoughts with Hop Sing.

In the bedroom, Ben and Miriam talked about their pasts and spent nearly an hour measuring for curtains and bed linens because of that. Normally, that job could have been done in perhaps ten minutes or so by two people working together. By the time they came back down the stairs, they were becoming friends. Ben offered her a brandy before dinner, and she accepted. They were sitting by the fire talking when Joe and Bethany came back inside. Joe too thought he had done well in impressing Bethany with all the things he did on the ranch. She had asked him a lot of questions and he spent a lot of time talking about himself. When they got inside, Bethany apologized for the two of them taking so long, but both Ben and Miriam both exclaimed that it hadn't seemed like they had been gone very long. Joe was surprised by that because it was an hour and a half since they had left the house. He simply shrugged and escorted Bethany to the dining table because Hop Sing announced at that moment that dinner was ready.

Dinner was pleasant with conversation about Miriam and Bethany and how they had come to Virginia City and their impressions of the town and the people so far. Then after dinner, Ben insisted that the ladies should not drive back to town unescorted. He trumped Joe's plan to offer his services by suggesting that he go with the ladies before Joe could do so. Ben tied Buck to the back of the carriage and drove the ladies back to town. Joe was in a bit of a snit then and complained to Hoss about it, but Hoss was as diplomatic about it as he could be.

"Joe, Pa didn't know what you had planned so how could he know he was interfering? Besides, I think he likes Miriam."

"Her? But she's old and she's got gray hair."

"Joe, in case ya hadn't noticed, so is Pa and do does Pa. They got on real well right from the start from what I could tell."

"Well, I gotta do something to make that stop."

"Why wouldja wanna do that?"

"Because if Pa gets serious about her, then I can't keep seeing Bethany. It would be like being with a sister. I couldn't do it."

"Oh, I suppose that would be kinda strange."

Joe nodded and began plotting.

Chapter 3

There was one discussion between Adam and Anita before they left Denver that left both of them a bit unsettled. The issue was whether they would marry. Adam was clear about his uncertainty, which Anita didn't take as clear at all.

"You're not sure you love me or you're not sure you want to marry me? Which is it, because I know I love you. It's as certain as anything else I know."

"Anita, you're still very young. You haven't had much experience with anything like this. I have."

"I know. You've told me about the women who've left you one way or another. Well, I don't plan to leave, but it seems that's not good enough for you."

"No, I have to be more sure. I have to know that I love you enough to spend my life with you. We haven't known each other that long."

"You came all the way to Denver to see me. You obviously desire me, I can tell that quite easily."

"Desire isn't love. I have to be sure. We'll be working together, and we'll be traveling together. We'll be together more than many men and women who are married. For now, you're going to have to be satisfied with that."

Knowing it was up to Adam, Anita agreed, but she was disappointed as was Franklin. He had thought the inducements he had offered and the obvious affection Adam had for his daughter would be enough. Adam was more cautious than he had expected. However like Adam, he knew that the two would be spending a great deal of time together. He expected the inevitable to happen one way or another. As Adam and Anita traveled to the Ponderosa, they had separate rooms at each stop. That didn't stop Anita from teasing Adam by inviting him to stay in her room each time. When they got to the Ponderosa to a warm welcome and Adam took her luggage to her room and she invited him in, he did step into her room surprising her.

"Lady, we need to set some ground rules. You have been teasing me unmercifully for days now. That has to stop. It could be overheard here and lead to incessant teasing by my brothers, which I would detest. It is making things very difficult for me. You are putting undue pressure on me, and I would appreciate it if you would stop."

It was the closest they had come to an argument since the first day they had met. Knowing that she had crossed the line again, Anita was sorry for her behavior.

"I guess I was being a bit petulant for not getting my way. I won't do it again. I am sorry. I thought it was funny. I didn't think of how it made you feel."

"That's all right then." Adam kissed her lightly. "Now, freshen up. Everyone wants to talk about Denver and what we did there." He saw the wicked gleam in her eyes.

Grinning, she shook her head. "No, I won't say anything to make you uncomfortable. But you know Joe will."

"I think I can handle Joe." Looking around her room, Adam frowned. "This room has been redone. I wonder who did it."

"I don't know, but I love it. It feels more like a woman's room now and not like it's for one of you men."

Downstairs, Miriam and Bethany came out from the kitchen where they had been working on the last of the items for Anita's room. Two large pillows had needed to be stuffed with batting and stitched closed. That was done now. Miriam asked if Anita and Adam had come down yet to say anything about the new decorations. She and Bethany handed over the new pillows to Joe who took them up the stairs after Ben said Adam and Anita hadn't yet come back downstairs.

"Miriam, you and Bethany should stay for dinner with all of us."

"Oh, Ben, we don't want to impose on a family gathering. I'm sure you all want to visit with the two of them after they've been gone."

"I'm sure that Anita would like to thank you for what you've done, and perhaps she would like to talk to you about decorating. She has a large house in town to get ready for her to stay there. Perhaps she might like to hire you to do that work too."

"Oh, the Carter mansion is hers? I've heard that there was work to be done there, but I didn't know who to ask."

Suddenly Joe had an idea. He had been trying to think of something to keep his father and Miriam apart, and thought he had the thing to do it. It meant that Bethany would be busy in the shop but her mother would be even busier. He was going to do everything he could to make sure that Miriam got to decorate the Carter mansion, and then he was going to make sure all the wealthy ladies in town visited there to see what she had done. If it all worked as well as he hoped, he guessed she might get a year's worth of work out of that. Hoss walked in with Pamela then and overheard the next thing Joe said making him suspicious of what Joe might be up to.

"Sure, Miriam, and then maybe Anita could invite ladies from town to a tea or a party, and they could see the work you've done. I bet if you were there too, you could get a lot of commissions to do decorating work. With Bethany available to run the shop, you could spend your time decorating to your heart's content."

Ben narrowed his eyes too thinking that something seemed awry with what was going on although Miriam seemed to like the idea.  
"Well, it certainly would be good to get a bit more business and be able to pay off that loan. I don't like that hanging over my head. If I could get that paid off, I would feel a lot safer and not so worried from month to month that business might slow and I won't be able to make a payment."

"I'll help all I can. I'd be happy to help." Joe was grinning. "When I can get away from all the work I have on the Ponderosa, of course."

Ben asked Joe and Hoss to go take care of Miriam's carriage horses then as they would be staying for dinner. He went to tell Hop Sing that there would be two more for dinner, but Hop Sing had already anticipated that and shooed him out of the kitchen. He was in time to introduce Miriam and Bethany to Adam and Anita who came down the stairs then. Out in the stable, Hoss was questioning Joe about what had happened inside.

"Joe, what are you up to with all of that?"

"Only what I told you. I'm helping her out and in the process, helping myself too. She'll be too busy to see Pa, and that will open the door for me to keep seeing Bethany."

"If she's busy, won't Bethany be busy?"

"Only she'll be busy out in the shop. Bethany, is, shall we say, not very skilled when it comes to doing decorating things. Her mother only lets her do things like stuff pillows that anyone can do. So she'll run the shop and the hours mean she'll be available in the evenings and on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. That's perfect."

"But Miriam?"

"If she works like she did on this job, she'll be working every hour she isn't sleeping. She barely took time to take meals according to Bethany."

"Joe, it don't seem right. You're looking like you're helping, but you're really being kinda mean."

"Hoss, you heard her. She needs the money."

"Yeah, but it still don't feel right."

By the time they got back inside, Joe's plan was well underway with Anita talking with Miriam about decorating her house in town. Miriam asked if it would be all right to let other ladies see her work there, and Anita said that she and Adam would be holding some meetings there and that the women could be invited to the dinner meetings which would be a good time to show off the decorating. Miriam was pleased by that.

"We would like the dining room and first floor decorations done as soon as possible. The bedrooms can wait. I can hang a sheet over the window for now for privacy."

"I can be at the house on Monday to do measuring if you can be there. I would get started the same day if we can pick out the fabrics you want, and I don't have to order any."

"Miriam has very good quality fabrics in her shop as well as a full range of fabrics. I stopped in there yesterday to see about the progress of the decorations for Anita's room here. I was quite impressed with what she has done with an ordinary shop, and turned it into the premier dry goods shop in town."

Ben looked proud making Adam and Anita look at each other. Clearly Ben had some interest in Miriam by the way he looked at her and the way he talked about her. They both thought things were going to be very interesting for a while. Neither had any idea of Joe's scheming. Bethany had hoped that her mother and Ben would be able to have a romantic relationship and was disappointed with Joe's plan that would make her mother so busy. She too had no idea that was exactly what he wanted.

At dinner, Joe decided to tell a story about Adam.

"Anita and Pamela, I think you ought to know what the family is like."

Joe thought that telling how he and Hoss were going to throw Adam in the horse trough but Hoss ended up there instead was a good one. He proceeded to tell how the next step was Hoss forcing Adam into the horse trough. Adam and Hoss didn't laugh nearly as much as Joe when the story was done. Ben chuckled a bit, but the ladies were somewhat reserved in their amusement. Joe was surprised. "It was really funny. I guess you had to be there."

Bethany frowned and probably said what the other ladies were thinking. "But Joe, you were trying to get Adam into the horse trough so wasn't it only fair that he did something to Hoss and then Hoss did something to him? What I don't understand is why you got off scot free with nothing happening to you even though you were the one who got things started."

"Well, now it wasn't really my fault."

"Yeah, like that thing with Old Sheba wasn't yer fault neither." So Hoss told the story of how they ended up with an elephant and all the problems associated with that including how he almost single handedly hauled ten tons of logs for a contract with almost no help from Joe.

"Hey, Hoss, now we were partners in all of that."

"Ifn we was partners, how come I did all the work?"

"I helped!"

"I was pulling them logs and turned around, and you was sitting on them logs when you was supposed to be pushing."

"Boys, I think that's more than enough. We have guests."

"Sorry, Pa."

"Sorry."

"I've got a story about Joe and the rest of us if you have the time. The Christmas season is only a few months away. I was cleaning out my dresser a few weeks ago looking for my best tie. I found a small folded paper in a small box of mementoes. I unfolded it and it was a smudged pale green Christmas tree with four red blotches on it and three yellow blotches at the top."

Joe didn't remember making it, but Adam smiled at him. "I remembered six-year-old Little Joe giving that to me on Christmas day. I remembered too the days before and what had led to that moment. There was a conversation between Pa and Joe that I overheard."

"Pa, I don't know what to give anybody for Christmas. I don't have any money. How do you give gifts if you don't have money?"

"Little Joe, true gifts come from the heart. A generous heart knows when the gift is right."

"What's a generous heart, Pa?"

"Well, you know how much we love Hop Sing's cooking, don't you?" Little Joe nodded and smiled. "But we all agreed that Hop Sing would get Christmas day and the day after to be with his cousins who recently arrived in Virginia City. They do not celebrate Christmas, but because so many of the mines and other businesses will be closed, they will have those days off. Otherwise he doesn't get to see them."

"Yes, Pa, so we hafta eat your cooking and Adam's cooking for two days."

Little Joe made such an awful face that his father had to chuckle. "Now, son, Hop Sing has made a lot of food in advance. There will be cookies and ham as well as bread and other things that he has prepared. Adam and I will only have to cook the basics. I think we can handle that."

"I guess so."

"You see, accepting that is having a generous heart. We are giving away something that we want to have in order to make someone else happy. When we see Hop Sing smile, that will make us happy."

"Pa, I don't think I have anything that Adam or Hoss want. What can I give away to make them happy?"

"Son, that is your job to figure that out. Now it's time for bed for you. We have a lot to do tomorrow to get the house ready for Christmas."

Little Joe ran up the stairs pausing at the top to look back guiltily knowing he wasn't supposed to do that. "Sorry, Pa. I forgot again."

Pa waved him on to bed before taking a close look at me as I sat by the fire. I had been reading, but then I was staring at the fire seemingly lost in thought. Pa got a fresh cup of coffee, and when he returned, I was still staring at the fire.

"Something important on your mind, son?" He had to repeat that and call my name to get my attention.

"Oh, yes, sorry. I was thinking."

"Yes, I gathered that. What was so important to have you so lost in thought?"

"I heard you talking to Little Joe. I think I have to get a different set of gifts for my brothers."

"A different set of gifts? Why is that?"

"I was going to give Hoss my old fishing pole and my box of hooks and line. I was going to give Joe the stacks of drawing paper I don't need any more and some extra colored chalk I have."

"I'm sure they would both love those things. What's wrong with them as gifts?"

"Yes, they may want those things, but they're not from a generous heart. I don't need them any more."

"Ah, so what will you do?"

"I don't know."

The next morning, I rummaged in my closet and pulled out an old box that I set on my dresser. Then I opened the top drawer of my dresser and pulled out a box that I had received from San Francisco only a few weeks earlier. I set it by the box deciding to think about my ideas for a day to decide if that was what I wanted to do. The following morning, I carried my old fishing pole and gear, paper and chalk, and the two boxes down to the tree. Little Joe and Hoss both got wide-eyed seeing what I had guessing accurately who was getting what. Hoss was happy with the fishing pole and gear. Joe was happy with the paper and chalk. Then I handed the small box to Hoss who frowned at getting a second present.

"The first one doesn't count because I was done with that anyway so you can just have it. This is your real present."

Hoss opened the small box to find a shiny jackknife with a large C on it. His eyes got very large. "Adam, this is that fancy one you got in the mail."

"Yes, it is. Merry Christmas, Hoss."

"I'm gonna carve stuff with this all winter. This is great. Thank you so much. I'm gonna carve a picture frame for you so you can hang up one of them drawings you do."

"Thank you, Hoss." Adam turned to Little Joe who was anxious to use the paper and chalk. He handed him the larger box. Little Joe opened it to find a hat. "That's the hat that Inger gave me from her store. I wore that hat for a long time. She was Hoss' mother, but by the time I stopped wearing that hat, Hoss' head was already too big for him to wear it. Now, you can wear it. It ties all of us together."

"Wow, Adam. I really like it. I needed a new hat too." Even though he was in the house, Little Joe put the hat on. "Thank you."

Then Little Joe gathered up the paper and chalk and began drawing as he knelt at the table in front of the fireplace. Hoss went to get some of the cookies Hop Sing had made, and he and I and Pa ate those and relaxed by the tree. After a short time, Little Joe brought a drawing to me.

"I got a second present for you too, Adam. It's a Christmas tree. Those red things are hearts. The biggest heart on there is you. You have the best generous heart of anybody I know."

"Who are these?"

"Those are our mothers, silly. They're the angels on top of the tree. I just don't draw so good. This one is smiling because she sees I'm wearing the hat she gave you. It made her happy. Here you can have the drawing. I made it for you."

Adam took the drawing and said nothing holding it and staring at it with blurred vision. Little Joe stared at his oldest brother for a moment and then went to his father.

"Pa, I think you gotta do something for Adam. He's sad. He's got water in his eyes."

"No, Little Joe, Adam isn't sad. He's as happy as he could possibly be at this moment. Sometimes with a generous heart, you find the joy of Christmas, and it puts water in your eyes."

"So that's the story of what our family is really like. Pa taught us lessons like that all our lives, and he helped us learn to live that way too. We were taught to help each other."

Chapter 4

Again, Ben offered to escort Miriam to town. Joe this time was ready though with an offer to help so both he and his father went with the ladies when they left. Hoss had to give Pamela a ride home so he was gone too. Anita sat by the fireplace and watched Adam for a short time.

"That was a beautiful story you told, and seemed very much out of character for you to tell. Would you like to tell me what's going on?"

With a bit of wry smile, Adam looked at her. "I should have known you would guess there was more to the story than a simple desire to tell a tale. Yes, I'll tell you because you've been a witness to something similar before. I think Joe is up to something. I don't know what it is, but he was telling tales that seemed to cast us in an unflattering light for some reason. I decided to offset that. I wanted to see his reaction. He wasn't pleased even though he was described very well my story as were all the members of our family."

"And those were all true stories?"

"Yes, they were. Now, what is more important is to try to guess what Joe is trying to do. He couldn't be trying to scare you off. If you were going to be scared off, you've had more than enough reason already and you don't seem to scare that easily. Pamela and Hoss seem like they're getting on quite well together too."

"So he's either trying to scare Bethany away or he's trying to scare Miriam away from your father."

"And I think you know which way that is likely going. What I don't understand is why he would be doing that."

"It seems very odd. She's very nice and so beautiful although she and her daughter don't look at all alike. Miriam is so classic in her looks, and Bethany has that blond cherub look about her."

"Yes, I noticed that. Bethany must take after her father although we'll never meet him. Apparently he died this past year. I thought Joe might be cured of scheming but apparently that's not true either."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll talk to Hoss when I get a chance because he better not be involved in this, and I'll do what I can to counter any moves Joe makes."

"Aren't you scheming as much as he is then?"

"I'll do what I can to help people not myself. I guess I see that as different."

"I guess it is. All right, as long as we're helping people. I think I know where Joe may be going with this decorating thing too. If a lot of people see my home and like the work Miriam does, she'll get so much business, she won't have time to see your father."

"Unless she's able to hire some workers at an economical price to do most of the work for her. She might end up with even more free time." Adam was grinning so Anita was intrigued.

"You've been thinking the same thing I have, but you already have a solution in mind. What is it?"

"There are some Chinese women in town who would probably love the opportunity to work. They usually are willing to work for fairly low wages. I don't think Miriam would pay too low a wage, but I'm sure she could work something out that would be fair and that she could afford. Everyone could benefit."

"It's been a very long day. Perhaps we could get to be early tonight. I think tomorrow could be an interesting day too."

"Yes, I was going to tell Pa about our arrangement with your father, but tomorrow afternoon is probably a better time to do that. We'll be more rested and we'll have time to talk about it."

"You don't think he's going to approve, do you?"

"Pa doesn't accept change like that easily. I'm sure he is hoping I'll stay here and help him run the Ponderosa."

"You will be."

"Not the way he envisioned it though. I'll be doing it my way, and that could be a source of some friction."

"Perhaps he'll be so happy you're staying that he won't mind."

"You are quite an optimist. All right, let's think that."

Grinning broadly though, he let her know he didn't believe that at all. With an arm around her waist, he walked her up the stairs and kissed her goodnight reluctant to let her go but knowing he had to do that or more would happen than he wanted to happen at this point. Anita followed the ground rules they had set though and didn't tease him except with a smile as she closed her door slowly. He could only roll his eyes at that. She was behaving herself mostly though.

The next morning, Adam helped Hoss get two carriages ready to take the family to church. Hoss was picking up Pamela, and Ben hoped to see Miriam so they needed both. As they worked, Adam had a few questions.

"Joe was in an odd mood last night."

"DIdn't seem so odd ta me."

"It didn't? It seemed like he wanted to tell stories that made us all look bad. That seemed odd with two ladies in the house that you would think he would want to impress: Bethany for him and Miriam for Pa." Adam could see Hoss get noticeably uncomfortable when he said that. "All right, tell me what's going on. It was clear that Joe was working some sort of plan. It was only that I couldn't see the point of it."

"He wants to be with Bethany."

Puzzled, Adam said nothing for a short time. "How does telling stories that make us look bad help with that?"

"Think on it some."

After finishing with one carriage, Adam moved over to help Hoss finish up with his. "He thinks if Pa is with Miriam, he can't be with Bethany?"

"Yup, that's it."

"You're not helping him with this, are you?"

"Nope, learned my lesson on that. I didn't even know he was doing anything until last night, and then when I heard the stories he was telling and how happy he was about it, and I saw the look he gave you when you told your story. I put it together with what he had said to me when he first wanted to be with Bethany and Pa took a shine to Miss Miriam."

"I don't want him to mess things up for Pa. He should let things alone. Why doesn't he ask Miriam if that's a problem? It might not bother her anyway."

"Oh, he don't care if it's a problem for her. It bothers him. He said it would be like being with his sister if Pa and Miriam got together."

"So the whole problem is in his head."

"Yup, that's about it."

"Pa and Miriam seem good together."

"I think so too. You're not going to get into helping them get together, are you?"

"No, it's up to them if they're going to be together, but I will get in Joe's way if he tries to interfere with them." Adam walked to the house then.

Hoss stared after Adam and then looked to the sky. "Lordy, why cain't things ever be simple around here?"

Church services were pleasant and Ben offered to buy lunch for everyone. After lunch, Miriam said she had to get home to take care of some things. Ben walked her there as Hoss escorted Pamela to her home. Joe took Bethany for a ride as Adam and Anita waited for Hoss and Ben to return before the four of them went home. Once there, Adam and Anita explained the business proposition Franklin had made and they had accepted.

"Anita is now the executive in charge of all the Carter operations in Virginia City and in California. However, her father could return at any point and his authority supersedes hers. When he is not here though, no one has authority higher than hers. When she signs something though, it is not official unless I also sign it. She has to sign first, but when I sign it, it becomes valid. It is the safety valve that Franklin wanted because Anita still lacks experience. She will have to explain each decision to me. I won't make any decisions, but I can veto decisions which in effect will make her have to adjust what she's done and make a new decision. We hope that doesn't happen often because it would ruin our relationship."

"That is exactly what I was thinking as I heard you describe the set-up he has created here. It's almost as if he doesn't want the two of you to stay together."

"Mister Cartwright, my father believes in trial by fire. He always pushes people to see what they're really made of. Adam and I have talked, and we've decided that the best thing to do would be for me to discuss any decision with him before I make it. The likelihood then of any serious confrontation between us would be so much less."

"But it could still be there."

"It could, sir, but if that is so, then perhaps we don't belong together. If we can't work in business together, how can we make life decisions together?"

"I suppose there's some truth to that, but it still seems a draconian method to use."

"Huh? Pa, now I been following along until ya done said that."

Ben smiled as Adam explained. "It means a rule that is so strict or severe as to be unfair or even cruel."

"Ya mean he was being plain nasty, dontcha?"

"I guess so, Hoss. I guess that's what I meant. He could have set up something less challenging."

"Heck, Pa, he probably figured out early on how much Adam likes a challenge. He probably figured that he'd take to this like a duck to water, like a pig to a mud puddle, like a cat to a bowl of warm milk, like . . ."

"Enough, Hoss, we get it. I like to be challenged. Now, as to the Ponderosa, I can still work here. We plan to live here too."

"We?"

"Ah, well, Anita will until her house is ready. Then we'll hire some people to work at her house and we'll set up an office at her house. I'll be there some days and here some days."

"I see. And how will we know what days we can count on you being here?" Ben's voice had a slight edge to it with that question.

Adam and Anita looked at each other. "At first, we don't know. Until I get a handle on what we have to do, I won't be able to set up a reliable work schedule. I'll do that as soon as I can. I'll also have to travel with Anita when she goes to California."

Hoss was waiting too to see if their father was going to object. He was relieved when there were no objections.

"Good. I hope you can get us a schedule soon. It will make things run more smoothly on this end. And if you know when you'll be traveling, that will help too."

"Thank you, Pa."

"For what? I didn't do anything."

"For understanding."

"Of course I'm understanding. Why wouldn't you think I'd be understanding. Now, I need a cup of coffee." Ben walked to the kitchen before he said something else he didn't want to say. Adam and Hoss admired his restraint. Anita looked up at Adam.

"That went well." She sounded unconvinced though and a bit worried about how Ben had reacted.

Hoss answered. "Gal, that went as well as it possibly could. It was well nigh on to being a miracle."

That got Adam chuckling and then Hoss laughed. Soon the tension was relieved with all three joining in the merriment. In the kitchen, Ben correctly guessed why they were laughing. He didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do about it. He waited until he was sure they were talking about a different topic before he went back out to join them. He knew he would be thinking about it all night and doubted he would have a restful night.

Chapter 5

On Monday morning, at breakfast, Ben was happy that Adam came down first and they had a chance to talk before anyone else got to the table. With some time to think about what Adam had told him of Franklin's maneuvering him into helping Anita, he had realized he had forgotten to ask one very important question. He resolved to remedy that situation as soon as he could and over coffee with his son was a good time.

"Yesterday, when you shared your news, I was so caught up in my own reactions, I must admit I didn't ask something that has been on my mind since then."

"I guessed that you didn't think too much of how Franklin did it. Frankly, I wasn't pleased either to be pushed into making that decision or even forced into it. There wasn't another option for me if I wanted a future with Anita, and he knew it once he threw that out there in front of her."

"She wouldn't have defied her father's wishes?"

"Maybe, but to drive a wedge between father and daughter at this point, when I'm not ready to make a commitment to her would have been irresponsible. I couldn't do it."

"You're not ready to make a commitment to her? I had thought that when you went to Denver to see her, that you were ready."

"At that point, I guess I thought so too. I missed her a lot. But then the doubts surfaced again. It's been like that. I feel that I'm sure that I want to spend the rest of my life with her, but then I consider her age and things that have happened and how short a time we've been together, and then I'm not so sure any more."

"If you feel that way, then perhaps this is a test of your relationship. Maybe Franklin is testing you."

"I wondered about that too. He said it wasn't, but it is whether he says it is or not. This will put some pressure on us to see if we can work together amiably."

"And if you cannot work together amiably?"

"Then we'll see. I can't predict what I don't know."

"No matter what happens, you'll always have your home here."

Adam smiled knowing how much that meant to his father. "We'll have to sit down at some point to figure out how I can work best on the Ponderosa too."

"As soon as you work out the details of how you and Anita plan to function as a team, we can do that here too."

"Thank you, Pa. I'm in a bit of bind being pulled both ways. Your understanding of this situation is appreciated."

"I'm always here for you to talk about this. You know that, don't you?"

"I know it."

By then, Hoss was coming down the stairs, and Anita was soon there too. Hop Sing had waited for father and son to finish talking and now brought out breakfast for all.

After breakfast, Adam took Anita to town so that they could work with Miriam to get the measurements done for the decorating of the Carter mansion. Joe said he thought he ought to be the one to go, but Adam only laughed at that and dismissed the idea outright.

"Joe, I'm Anita's partner so I'll be the one to go. That's the end of the discussion."

Of course partner had a double meaning in this context, and Joe couldn't argue with the logic of the statement either. He had to concede. After Adam and Anita left, Hoss told Joe they needed to talk. Once inside the stable, Hoss made his feelings known but Joe misunderstood.

"Joe, I ain't happy with how your plan is going."

"I know. Adam stepped in and almost ruined the first part of it. It would have been so much better if he could have kept his mouth shut. I don't know what he thought he was doing, but he made a mess of things."

"No, Joe, you're the one making a mess of things. It was Adam who stopped it from being worse. Ya gotta stop this scheming ya got going and let things happen natural like no matter what happens."

"Adam turned you against me on this, didn't he?"

"Nope, 'cause he didn't have to. I never thought you was gonna do something stupid like this. Now you better be behavin' yerself or I mebbe will hafta toss you in a horse trough to cool you down. Ya hear me clear and all?"

"I hear ya." Joe stomped off to do his work.

Late that afternoon, Adam and Anita returned and Miriam was with them. Hoss had been working at the forge so he was the first to greet them.

"Hey, what you all doing back here? Couldn't stay away from Hop Sing's cooking?"

"No, Miriam needs some designs drawn up, and I left all my drawing tools here. She's going to tell me what she wants, and I'll draw it."

Hoss was standing with one foot up on the horse trough giving Joe the idea that he could outsmart Hoss with one move. Adam saw him coming though and at the last minute, he shoved Hoss to the side and Joe fell into the horse trough head first with the momentum he had and no one to shove. Miriam was very concerned and wanted to help, but Hoss intervened.

"Nah, you go on inta the house with Adam and Anita. I kin take care of Joe."

Hoss reached down and plucked Joe from the horse trough. Joe was sputtering and gasping for air and coughing a bit too.

"Aw, quit yer fussing. It was all yer fault anyhow."

As Miriam walked with Anita, she looked back at Hoss and Joe still sputtering in the horse trough. "Hoss doesn't seem to have much sympathy for your brother who fell."

"Ah, it was more than a fall." Adam wasn't sure how much to say.

Anita resolved that issue for him and addressed Miriam. "Perhaps tomorrow we can talk about it. I have a few things to explain to you."

"I wish you would. Hoss seemed like such a nice man for being so large, but just there, he didn't seem so nice."

Adam had to defend Hoss. "Miriam, Hoss has the kindest heart of any man I know. He wouldn't hurt anyone or anything if he could help it, but when someone means to do another harm, that gets him angry."

"I really must be missing something here."

"Yes, and you and Anita can chat about that tomorrow. Let's drop that for now so we can concentrate on the job we have to do."

But when Hoss came into the house, he still looked a bit upset. Adam decided that he could tell another story that would cheer up Hoss probably and most likely help his image with Miriam too. He leaned back in his chair at the dining table and looked out the window staring at the tableau. Miriam and Anita noticed after a short time and had to ask why he was so lost in thought. He was ready for them.

"Oh, I saw a bunny outside and it reminded me of Hoss as a little boy."

Miriam was surprised. "A bunny reminded you of Hoss? Somehow I would never associate those two."

"Oh, I do. You see, Hoss has always had a soft spot for what he calls critters. Even as a small boy, he loved animals. He used to pick up strays all the time. He would find little bunnies around the house and want to keep them. I'd have to take them back out there so they could be reunited with their mothers. One day, Pa did it, and said the very worst thing he could say to Hoss about bunnies."

"What did he say?"

"Pa walked around the back of the house with Hoss trailing along behind him as he always did. He would have this long hangdog face so sad to lose another potential pet. Pa saw that and thought he would explain why it was necessary to return the bunny to its mother."

"Hoss, we have to put the bunny back with its mama. If we don't, it will never grow up to be a rabbit. Now you want it to grow up to be a rabbit, don't you?"

With a horrified look, Hoss stared at his father. "Bunnies grow up to be rabbits?"

"Of course, they do, Hoss, just like calves grow up to be cows and foals grow up to be horses."

At that point, Hoss turned and ran into the house in tears. Pa followed and found Hoss inconsolable. He didn't know what he had done wrong. He had seen Adam return bunnies and other small animals to the wild and Hoss though sad had never cried especially this torrent of tears from the little boy. He didn't want to speak to his father so Ben let him be, but when Adam returned, he asked him to speak with Hoss to find out what was wrong.

"Hoss, little brother, what's wrong. Are you sick or hurting somewhere? Are you hungry?"

"I ain't never gonna eat again, Adam."

"Never going to eat again? Hoss, you have to eat. You'll die if you don't eat."

"Ifn it means I gotta eat bunnies, then I ain't a gonna eat and that's that."

"Hoss, we don't eat bunnies."

"Pa said we do."

Frowning, Adam wondered how that could be. Finally he decided that the only thing to ask was exactly what their father had said. So that's what he asked.

"Pa said bunnies grow up into rabbits, and then we eats 'em, Adam."

Then Adam knew the dilemma he had. He couldn't lie to Hoss even though he had hidden that truth from him by omission for quite a while. He didn't think his five-year-old brother needed to know that particular bit of information. He knew now though so there was no avoiding it. He decided to get a bit philosophical or as much as he could get at eleven.

"Hoss, you know that wolves and coyotes eat rabbits, don't you?"

"They do?"

"Yes, and they eat bunnies too if they can get them. They eat anything they can get. We don't do that. We only eat what we have to eat. We need to live. God put animals on the earth with us."

"Yup, and we gotta take care of them."

"Yes, we take care of our horses and our cows. We would never eat our horses, would we?"

"That's silly, Adam. Horses are for riding."

"What are cows for, Hoss?"

"I guess they're for eating."

"Yes, we sell them to people, and they eat them. We eat some of them here too. We eat them because then we can live. Now we don't eat calves, do we?"

"No, that's silly. They're too small. They gotta grow up."

"Just like bunnies, right, Hoss?"

Hoss scrunched up his face and frowned for quite a while until he nodded. He didn't like the conclusion he had drawn, but it seemed to be the only one that made sense.

"But we only eat 'em when we're hungry, and we never eat bunnies, right, Adam?"

"Right."

"And we shoot coyotes and wolves ifn they come around?"

"If they bother the animals and try to kill them, we do."

"Good, 'cause they eat bunnies."

"That wasn't the last time we had to talk to Hoss about small animals. As he got older, the animals he brought home got bigger and more varied."

"Aw, Adam, it weren't that bad."

"Should I tell them about the time you snuck a porcupine into the tack room and I ended up with a bunch of quills in my hand?"

"Well, maybe it was a bit much sometimes." Hoss grinned as the others chuckled.

Adam got to work drawing up some decorating ideas for Anita's home then with Anita and Miriam discussing what they thought would work with each room. Ben watched from his desk as the three worked at the dining table. Hoss walked over to talk with his father.

"Pa, they're talking that funny language they got again about things like bolsters and valances and folding doors. Heck, Pa, how kin ya have a door that folds, anyhow?"

"Hoss, it's usually a way to open up a space. I saw it in a house in San Francisco. I'm sure Adam has seen it too. He'll get to use a number of things he's seen."

"He shur seems happy, don't he?"

"Yes, he does."

Ben smiled as Hoss put a hand on his shoulder. Two sons seemed happy. Now if he could only figure out why Joe seemed to be moping around so much. He should have been in a better mood with Bethany on his arm, but yet he seemed to be upset about something.

"Hoss, do you have any idea what's been bothering Joe?"

The surprise almost made Hoss say something. His expression gave it away though even though he said nothing. "Nope, not really."

"Nope, not really is your way of saying I ought to talk to him myself, I guess." Frowning slightly, Ben looked at Hoss who shrugged and gave him a sickly smile that confirmed what Ben had said. "All right, I'll find some time to talk to him."

"You could try."

"He probably won't tell me what's bothering him though."

"Mebbe not."

"Sometimes I wish I had daughters. It seems that they have little problem in talking to their parents. From what I hear, they talk too much, but at least their parents know what's going on."

"Yeah, but then you'd have to worry about them all the time."

"That's true too."

"Usually I depend on you and Adam to talk with Joe about things when he won't talk with me about them." Hoss said nothing to that either. "All right. I get the picture. I'll wait and let it work out. I assume that you and Adam know what's going on and you'll take care of things and make sure nothing bad happens." Hoss shrugged again, and all Ben could do to that was roll his eyes. He decided to change the subject. "Miriam is certainly working hard to make that house nice for Anita."

"She shur is. She's a right fine looking woman too, ain't she, Pa?"

"Yes, she is."

Looking sideways at his father, Hoss smiled to see the way Ben was looking at Miriam with a little smile. He hoped that their friendship could continue to grow and develop. He knew his father was lonely sometimes. Even if all he and Miriam became were friends, it would be a great thing as far as he was concerned.

When the three at the table finished working, Ben again invited Miriam to stay for dinner. She agreed after first saying she ought to get back so she could go to work.

"But you need to eat so you have energy to work. This way you won't have to cook dinner, and Hop Sing can send along some food for Bethany so you won't have to worry about her either."

"Ben, you are very persuasive. Thank you. I accept."  
"Pa, on Friday night, I have tickets for a performance at Piper's. Would you and Miriam like to attend with Anita and me? We could all have dinner first and then go. It's a short one and we could go take a look at how far the decorating has gone at Anita's house too."

Looking over at Miriam who nodded, Ben smiled. "I think that would be a very good idea, Adam. We accept. Thank you." Then Ben noted that Joe didn't look happy about that and wondered why. "Joe, did you and Bethany wish to attend with us? I'm sure we could still get tickets if you did."

"No, that's not what we would like to do on Friday evening. No, that's fine. You go ahead and have a good time."

Except everyone at the table could tell that Joe wasn't sincere in making that statement. Ben and Miriam didn't know why, but the others did. Adam had already explained the situation to Anita who agreed with him that Joe needed to stop interfering. She had no ideas of what to do though and thought what Adam had done was the best thing. After dinner, Joe met Adam outside as he got the carriage ready for the two ladies to return to town.

"What are you doing trying to throw Pa together with that woman?"

"I'm not throwing Pa together with anyone. He likes her and she likes him. The four of us like each other and we're going to spend some time together. That's all it is. Now, I'm not scheming or playing any kind of game. I'm simply living my life as I see fit."

"You're trying to wreck my plans."

"If my actions 'wreck' your 'plans' then so be it, but that is not why I am doing anything. I enjoy performances. So does Anita. I thought Pa would like this one too and Miriam had expressed an interest in it as well. It's no great conspiracy that you seem to think it is. Not everyone goes around trying to manipulate people into doing what they want."

"I'm warning you that if you keep getting in my way, there's going to be trouble between us. I'm telling you so there won't be any surprises."

"Joe, you need to cool off and think about this. You're reacting emotionally and not thinking this through."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a kid."

"Then don't act like one."

The others walked out of the house about that time and Hoss rushed to his brothers because he thought it looked like a fight was about to erupt. He stepped between them, and Joe headed to the stable to avoid talking about what had happened. Miriam looked at Ben.

"Your family certainly is volatile. I hope this has nothing to do with me being here." She hadn't missed the way Joe reacted to her and Ben being invited to accompany Adam and Anita to Piper's. She had no idea why that would upset the young man, but something about it certainly had. The ride into town was quite long, and she hoped that perhaps Anita would enlighten her as to what was going on with the family dynamics of the Cartwrights. It was clear that something significant was occurring. Anita did tell her too because she thought she had a right to know so she wouldn't be caught unaware if something happened. Miriam thanked her and had a talk with Bethany about it when she got home. The two of them were slightly amused, and then Bethany assured Miriam that she was going to have a long talk with Joe. It wasn't going to be at all what Joe expected.

That night, things were a bit tense in the Cartwright house, but the next night, Adam walked around with a bit of a smile that irritated Joe and made Hoss wonder what was going on. When Adam went up to bed, Hoss followed because curiosity had to be satisfied. When he left Adam's room, he was smiling a little too. The next day and the days after that, both Adam and Hoss had that same little smile every time they were around Joe who was in a feisty mood all the rest of the week. Adam was gone during the day working in town with Anita, but Hoss was with Joe who became more and more irritated with the smiles as the week progressed. When he questioned Hoss, all he got was that Hoss was happy with his life and that was why he was smiling. When Joe asked why Adam was smiling so much too, Hoss gave him the same answer about Adam. Ben noted the strange behavior of his sons but wasn't about to ask what was going on. He guessed he would find out soon enough.

Chapter 6

For the rest of the week, Ben had to continue to wonder. It all came to a head on Friday, and he got a very good idea of what it was all about when he had dinner with Miriam and Adam and Anita. They talked about their families, and then Anita brought up Bethany.

"Ben, I found out something this week about Bethany that I found fascinating. Did you know that she isn't Miriam's daughter, at least, not her daughter by birth?"

Ben's head tipped to the side as he contemplated that. It did make sense. Bethany was blond and blue-eyed with rosy cheeks and a light sprinkling of freckles over her nose. Miriam had gray hair that was silver in tone and her dark brows let you know that her hair had been black. Her skin was ivory with not a hint of a freckle anywhere. Instead of the cute nose Bethany had, she had a classic nose and her eyes were the shape of almonds. She was regal in appearance. No one would ever have picked them as mother and daughter, but Ben had never questioned it because he and Hoss didn't resemble each other either. He and Adam did favor each other quite a bit, and he did have characteristics somewhat like Joe, but he and Hoss were nothing alike. He had assumed that Bethany favored her father as Hoss had favored his mother's side of the family. Instead, apparently there was another explanation. He waited.

"When I came west with my husband, I was carrying a child, and I had many problems. The other women on the wagon train told me they didn't think the child would survive. He did not. My husband and I buried him along the trail west. Another woman had a baby girl about the same time. The little girl was healthy and strong right from the start. You could hear her crying all across the camp. Her mother didn't make it though. Now, I needed to do something in my sorrow and that little thing needed the milk I had. I nursed her for two months thinking I would have to give her up when we got to California. However, her father said he didn't know what he would do with a baby girl in the goldfields. He asked if we would keep her and raise her as our own. I loved her by then and there was no question that I would. He came back a number of times to visit and see how she was doing so we never changed her name. She always knew who her father was. She was never my daughter legally. She was always my daughter in my heart."

"Yes, there are many stories of people acting out of love and creating bonds. I'm very happy that Bethany had you there for her."

"No, that's not Bethany. That was Rose. She died four years ago. She caught the flu. Bethany was her best friend and spent a lot of time at our house because she didn't have a mother. She had needed someone to watch over her while her father worked, and she was there for so many years she called me mother as did Rose. Her father died in the same epidemic that claimed my Rose. It only seemed natural for her to move in with us, and then when my husband died, there was only the two of us."

"That is an amazing story."

"That's not the whole story for you to hear, Pa. We have to tell you what has Joe worried and why he's been acting the way he has."

By the time Adam finished telling Ben the story, Ben was shaking his head and Miriam was smiling.

"And Bethany is telling Joseph this story this evening?" Adam grinned. "He's going to be terribly embarrassed." If it was possible, Adam's grin got broader. "At least when he does apologize, be gracious." Ben's look was serious but his eyes were amused. Adam agreed.

In the morning, Adam was up early and dressed in his suit. Ben asked where he was going on a Saturday.

"Anita and I have a meeting with the managers of the mines that her father owns. Some of them said they didn't have time to meet during the week. We're going to settle that this morning, and get some other things settled too. When we asked for reports, they weren't complete. It's one of those situations possibly where the mice were playing when the cat was away."

"Do you think they were stealing?"

"It's hard to know exactly what they were doing if they won't give us any reports. I'll need current outputs to compare to past ones to see what's been happening. If there are discrepancies, then they'll need to have to explain those."

"If they can't?"

"Then we know what they've been doing. We've already alerted the accountant here. We haven't sent word to Franklin yet, but that will be next. We've sent messages to the California office, and they seem very cooperative. Nothing seems out of order there. However Franklin worked with them for years and knows all those people very well. The men here are mostly new hires. He could have made a mistake with a couple of them."

"Watch yourself, son. Men like that can be very dangerous. Greed makes men unpredictable."

"Yes, it's why I didn't like Anita spending time at the house in town, but she said she had to be there to work with Miriam on the decorating. I know nothing is likely to happen, but it still worries me."

"I think you're getting closer to that commitment you're not sure you're ready to make."

"It could be. Well, I need to get going. I'm meeting Anita at the house to discuss things, and then we want to be at the meeting before anyone else gets there."

When Joe came down the stairs, Adam was already outside getting the carriage ready to go. When Joe saw his father, he gave him a sheepish look.  
"I suppose you all know about Bethany?"

"We do."

"I suppose by now you know what I was trying to do?"

"Yes, I got the gist of it from Adam and then Hoss filled in a bit more. It may seem a bit funny now, but Joe, I am disappointed in you. You have to stop doing this scheming. If only you had been honest with Bethany from the start, none of this would have happened."

"I know, but I can't seem to stop myself, and yes, I do know how selfish I was being. I must have heard that about a dozen times last night. I'm very sorry for what I did. I guess I've got a lot of apologies to make."

"And what about you and Bethany?"

"She says she still likes me well enough to be friends, but that for now, that's all we'll be. She says we have to start over and that I have to prove myself. She wants me to show her that I can, well, you know, not do stupid things like I did."

"Sounds like a smart young woman there. Joe, you're still young. There's no rush."

"Hey, I thought I heard Adam down here. Where'd he go?"

When Ben told him, Joe excused himself because he wanted to talk to Adam before he left. When he got to the stable, he was a bit tongue-tied though and didn't know what to say to begin the conversation. Adam finally looked at him.

"Say you're sorry for what you said and be done with it."

"I am sorry, you know. When I get mad, I say things I don't mean. When you told that story about Christmas, I knew it was telling me to think about family. I knew I should, but instead I got mad at you because you were telling me what to do. It seems I do that too much. I get mad at the messenger and miss the message."

"I guess we all do that some times. I find myself feeling that way whenever anyone tries to make me move in a particular direction even if it's the direction I ought to go." Adam thought about what Franklin had done and how his father was nudging him to make a commitment to Anita. He smiled a little then comparing himself to Joe.

"I said some things I shouldn't have said too. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, you only have to ask. I'll do anything."

"You don't have to do anything, Joe. I accept your apology. Even though you may not believe it, I was young once, and I have made plenty of mistakes in my life too. I'm not done making them either. When I make mistakes, all I ever want is for people to accept my apology knowing it is sincere. I accept yours. All right?"

"Yeah, and thank you."

"Good, I've got to go. If it gets too late today, I'll stay in town. Tell Pa that if that happens, we'll see you at church tomorrow then."

"I'll do that. Thanks again, Adam."

That made Joe feel better, but then he realized he would have to apologize to his father and to Hoss too. He went in the house to do that and to tell them what Adam had said. He was relieved that once again his family was gracious. After what Adam had said, they weren't surprised either when he didn't return that evening. What was surprising was that he and Anita were not at church the next morning. Ben thought they ought to go to Anita's home to be sure everything was all right. First they escorted Miriam and Bethany to their home and dropped off Pamela at hers. Then they headed directly to Anita's large home on the outskirts of town. When they got there, they quickly found out that everything was not all right.

"Pa, I found Sport out back. He's tied to a post, and he ain't been fed, watered, or groomed at all. He's still got his saddle on. Adam would never have left him like that."

"There's no answer here." Ben had knocked at the front door several times. No one had come to the door. Then the door opened, but it was Joe standing there and not Anita or Adam.

"The door to the kitchen wasn't locked. Pa, it looks like somebody took Anita. There's a lot of stuff knocked around back there."

A search of the house confirmed in their minds that Joe's supposition was probably correct. There was every indication that there had been a struggle.

"That means that they probably took Adam too. But who would want to take them? Joe, would you go get Roy and tell him what we think happened? Hoss, you and I will start looking to see if we can find any tracks outside. By now, we've probably walked through them, but maybe we can still find something."

By the time Joe returned with Roy, Ben and Hoss had made a thorough examination of the area around the house and yard. They had found a few boot prints and wagon tracks. They found what appeared to be Adam's tracks and those led to where the wagon had been. There were no marks that indicated Anita had walked anywhere so they assumed she had been carried. They hoped she had not been hurt, but they worried that she had been. Either way, by having her, they had more control over Adam, although it did appear that there were at least six men involved so he was greatly outnumbered too.

Miles away, Adam was feeling that way as well. He couldn't do anything to anger these men who had taken him at gunpoint because Anita was there and too vulnerable. They had already threatened to harm her if he didn't cooperate. However, they still needed both of them so they hadn't done anything to either of them yet except hit him a few times. Then as an inducement to try to make them more cooperative, they had left them tied in the back of the mine tunnel in the dark laughing as they walked away with the lanterns casting long shadows and flickering points of light that got smaller and smaller until there was nothing. He was tied to an ore car and couldn't move at all. They had treated Anita better placing her on a chair first before tying her hands and ankles and then wrapping a rope around her waist to hold her to the chair. There wasn't anything she could do to help Adam to get free. He was doing his best to try to work his hands free of the tight ropes that bound them but with little success.

"Adam, why don't you sign those papers? I signed them because they said they were going to shoot you if I didn't sign. There's nothing in the world I wouldn't give up to save your life."

"Sweetheart, I know you did that to save me, and I love you for it. But if I sign, they will probably kill both of us, but they will surely kill me. I'm afraid of what they might do to you once they have what they want."

"But if we sign the papers selling the mine to them for the price they put down on that paper, why would they want to hurt us? They would have everything they wanted."

"If we sign under duress like this, if we sign in order to save our lives, the signatures are not valid. We could get any judge to declare that paper we signed as null and void. It would make anything we did meaningless. They know that."

"But if they kill us, wouldn't people know that they forced us to sign it?"

"Not if we have an accident on the way back to town. It's a steep road. Lots of wagons crash. It wouldn't seem so odd if another one did."

Quiet for a short time, Anita sighed loudly. "That's why when one of them hit you, one of the other ones grabbed him and told him not to hit you in the face. If you were battered in the face, it wouldn't look like an accident."

About to nod in agreement when he realized she couldn't see that, Adam instead agreed verbally. "Yes, now we have to hope my family realizes we're missing, guesses who took us, and figures out where they would likely be holding us."

"That's a lot of ifs that have to work out perfectly for us to be rescued."

"I think they have enough pieces of the puzzle to put it together, but the real question is whether they have enough time."

"Oh-oh, I think you're going to tell me this is worse than I think it is."

"It's Sunday. They can hold us here only until the men start coming back to work. My family has to figure this out and get here before that happens, and hopefully well before that happens. I don't know what time it is, but by tonight, these men have to give up or get rid of us."

Back at Anita's house, they were almost persuaded by Roy to go the wrong direction. "Ben, I hate to say it, but I think you ought to go back to the ranch in case a ransom note is delivered. I can't see any other reason anybody would want to kidnap Adam."

"You may be right, Roy, but why would they take Anita too?"

"Well, her pappy is rich too. Maybe they're thinking on getting two ransoms."

However Joe objected. "I don't think it's that at all."

"Well, Joe, I been in this business a whole lot longer than you have."

"I know you have, Sheriff Coffee, but I know Adam. He wouldn't have let himself be taken so easily by some kidnappers. By what Hoss and Pa found, he never fought back at all. He got off Sport and walked to that wagon and got in. That's not like Adam at all."

"No, that doesn't seem like Adam, does it." Roy frowned.

"Son, I think you have something there. The way Adam reacted seems to indicate he knew these men. They got very close to him before he knew anything was wrong. He knew them!"

Hoss and Joe agreed because both had been thinking the same way. Joe continued on with his logic.

"The men he knew that he was going to meet with yesterday were the men in charge of the mine operations here for Carter Enterprises. You said he told you that he and Anita were suspicious of what they were doing. Well, if they are dishonest, wouldn't it be logical to think that they might be the ones who did this too?"

Roy wasn't completely ready to accept that prominent business executives might be part of this criminal activity in his town. "Now that might be true except they're well known in town too. It's not like they could take Adam and Anita to one of their houses and not have people notice."

"No, so they would have to take them someplace where they wouldn't be seen, like the mine because no one is working there now."

"The other question would be why would they want to do this?" Roy wanted to see if Joe had an answer for that, but Ben answered instead.

"Franklin set up a system that Anita runs his business here for him, but because of her inexperience, everything she signs must be signed also by Adam for it to be legal. If they wanted something signed for Carter Enterprises, they need both signatures."

"If they up and forced 'em to sign anything, that wouldn't hold up in a court of law, and you can bet your bottom dollar a man like Franklin Carter would be fighting that in court."

Joe looked very serious when he made the next statement. "We better get going then. The only way that Franklin couldn't contest those signatures was if both of them aren't around any more."

"Ya think they're gonna kill 'em, dontcha?"

"Yes, Hoss, I'm afraid that's exactly what I think they're going to do."

Roy said he was going to go get a few men to help as the Cartwrights mounted up to head to the mine. When they got near the mine, Ben had them slow down so that no one would hear them approaching. They stealthily approached and got behind some cover to take a look at the scene before going any further. What they saw confirmed what they suspected because some of the men who ran the mine were there on a Sunday, which was highly unusual. A wagon with a tarp in the back stood by the mine entrance. Hoss kept counting and losing track as one man would enter the mine and another would come out.

"Pa, how many you count down there?"

"It's hard to tell, but I think there's five or six."

"We could take 'em easy then without waiting for Roy and a posse."

"Except the first thing they would probably do would be to use Anita and Adam as hostages to shield themselves." Ben was frustrated by that thought.

Joe had an idea. "Unless Adam had a gun and could stop them from doing that."

"Son, if you have an idea how we can manage that, I'd like to hear it."

Chapter 7

Joe had been thinking of a plan almost from the moment he had realized that Adam and Anita were probably in that mine. He knew how much Adam hated being in a mine ever since he and Philip had been trapped in a cave-in. His heart went out to Anita because he guessed that she would be terrified of being kidnapped and of being confined in a mine. "Hoss can lower me down a ventilation shaft. I can take a gun to Adam."

"It's pitch black down there. How you gonna see where you're going?" Hoss stated it, but Ben had the same question.

"If you each could tear off part of your shirts, I'll take a green stick with me and do a torch. Listen, we don't have much time. It's the best I've got. Either of you have a better idea?" Joe paused only a few seconds. "They won't be expecting this. That's what should make it work. Give me an hour or so to find Adam and then whether Roy is here or not, rush the mine. We can catch them in a crossfire. I doubt they've got the guts to handle that."

Ben wanted to say it was too risky. He wanted to say he couldn't take a chance on losing two sons. However, Joe was being so sensible and the plan did sound reasonable. He agreed and took off his coat to remove the sleeves from his shirt handing them to Joe who stuffed them in his pockets. "But, Joe, be careful. Don't take any crazy chances. The most dangerous part if getting down that shaft. You won't be able to see the bottom. How will you know when it's near or perhaps that you don't have enough rope to reach it?"

"I'll drop pebbles and listen. How long it takes to get to the floor of the mine will tell me how far it is. If it's too far, then I'll have to tug the rope and have Hoss haul me back up."

"You won't try climbing down?"

"I won't. The toughest part will be getting down that shaft and I won't risk a fall. Having me hurt in there only makes things worse. If I can't get down safely, I won't do it, but I'm sure I can get down safely. Once I manage that, the rest will be a piece of cake." Joe grinned, but they knew he was aware of how difficult it was going to be. Even going down the shaft was going to be tricky especially as he got further down and couldn't see where he was going. Judging where the bottom of the shaft was could be an issue even with his plan. Hopefully they had enough rope. If not, the whole plan would fail. Hoss was back in a half hour.

"He got down all right. The shaft was about thirty feet so we didn't have no problem getting him in. He lit a torch right away. I could see the light from it. Then I hightailed it back here. Any change down there?"

"Only that it appears all six of them are talking together now. I think Joe needs to hurry and be lucky. It looks like they're about to come to a decision as to what to do next."

Inside the mine, Joe was searching as quickly as he could. He had gotten to the main tunnel and looked for footprints. Of course there were many in a working mine which he had not fully considered in his planning so then he looked for small foot prints because that would be Anita. It had taken a while with the crude torch, but he had finally found some. He was following them but staying alert too to any sound or light coming from the entrance to the mine. He expected at any moment that one of the men out there might come inside. As he worked his way down the tunnel with the footprints that seemed to include a woman's prints, his torch picked up the image of Anita tied to a chair about the same time that he heard voices coming up behind him. He quickly put out the torch and moved in the dark tripping over Adam's legs and banging his shins on the ore car. He whispered loudly.

"Damn, I wish you'd wear lighter clothing so I could have seen you sooner."

"I hope you have a knife with you."

"Of course, I do. You taught me that a long time ago. I do remember a lot of the things you taught me." While Joe was talking, he was getting out the jackknife and slicing through the ropes that bound Adam's ankles. Then he reached around to cut the ropes binding his wrists. The voices were getting closer and they heard one of the men exclaim that there was smoke in the tunnel. They were talking loudly.

"I wonder what's burning in here."

"Doesn't matter. We'll take the two of them out so they can have their accident."

"Yes, and then we're all going home to a nice Sunday dinner as if nothing happened. Tomorrow, we'll have a meeting to work out who will run what at our new mine."

Once Joe had Adam's hands free, he handed him a pistol. "Can you shoot?"

"I wouldn't miss the ground if I fired. Joe, just untie Anita. I'm hoping if they see a gun in my hands, it will scare them enough."

Moving awkwardly because he was so sore and stiff, Adam moved behind the ore car. As soon as Anita was free, he called to her to get there with him. "Joe, get back here too. There's no reason for you to expose yourself to their guns. They may be bad shots, but there are six of them."

"Even now, you have to be bossy."

"I only want you to be safe. And thank you for getting in here. The ventilation shaft?"

"Yes, how'd you guess?"

"It's the only back door in and you're the only one slim enough to get through it. Quick thinking on the torch too."

"Thanks. I figured we didn't have much time."

At that point, the six men arrived and saw that their captives were missing. "Where the heck did they go?"

"Right here, gentlemen, if you would drop your weapons."

Joe stood as Adam kneeled. Both had weapons aimed at the six men. It was a standoff only for a minute though as the two men with lanterns quickly closed them down plunging the area into darkness. The sound of the men leaving was apparent. Joe quickly relit his smoking torch lighting the area again.

"I'll follow them. By now, Pa and Roy ought to have a welcoming party out there for them but we don't want them running back in here to hide."

"Hey, Joe, any debt you thought you owed me, we're even."

"Heck, Adam, I saved your life. I think I might be ahead."

With a giggle, Joe turned to leave as Adam shook his head at his cheeky little brother. He and Anita did their best to keep up with Joe as he hurried after the men who indeed thought about retreating until they heard his voice behind them. It was hopeless. They dropped their weapons, raised their hands, and walked out to meet Roy and Ben and the posse. There were six men who weren't going home to have dinner with their families and some lawyers who were being dragged away from their families on a Sunday evening to argue that their clients shouldn't spend the night in jail. Only they found that the sheriff and the judge were not in a good mood about the whole situation. The six men spent the night in jail and were to face the judge the next morning in his chambers. As Adam left the mine with Anita, he could tell she was cold. He wrapped his arm around her and realized she hadn't spoken in a long time either. She had done as asked, but that was the extent of her activity.

"Sweetheart, are you hurt?"

Anita turned into Adam's embrace and then nearly collapsed. She sobbed as he tried to comfort her. All the tension and the fear of the past day and a half released all at once. She had never been through anything like it. Ben pointed to the office and suggested that Adam might want to go in there for some privacy. He guided Anita that way and finally swept her up in his arms and carried her up the steps setting her down by the door and opening it. He ushered her in and had her lie down on a couch that was in there as he fed some wood into a stove. Then he pulled a chair beside the couch and rubbed his hand up and down her arm and her back trying to soothe and calm her as he talked softly to her. Ben knocked on the door and opened it a crack.

"We'll bring a carriage back from town. Joe and Hoss will be here if you need anything."

"A carriage blanket would be good and some water and something to eat."

Ben agreed and pulled the door closed. It took a few more minutes for Anita to fully stop crying. She tried to apologize for losing control, but Adam wouldn't let her.

"You were pretty amazing in there. You stayed strong and followed my lead. You did well. I can't blame you at all for crying. No one would."

"I don't usually cry like this."

"You don't usually get kidnapped and realize men are thinking of killing you either."

"I suppose that does make a difference." She managed a small smile then. "I'd like to sit up now and I'd like you to sit with me. If you could put your arms around me, that would be even better." Once they did that, Anita saw Adam's wrists. "You're bleeding."

"It's not bad, and we can't do much about it until we get to town anyway. Yours are a bit raw too."

"Yes, but there's no blood. Your hands are swollen too."

"They tied me rather tight. I think they were worried about me a bit more than they worried about you."

"The six of them did look pretty scared when they saw the two of you. That was almost funny."

Smiling at how fast Anita was bouncing back from the trauma, Adam knew that there would probably be nightmares and fears that would resurface in the coming weeks. He knew about that kind of thing after some of the things he had experienced. "I don't want you staying alone any more."

"I don't want to stay alone any more. Oh, Adam, I don't want to live in that big house by myself. I don't know what to do."

"You won't live there alone. We'll live there, I think when we're not on the Ponderosa. What do you think of that plan?"

"Are you asking me something more?"

"Yes, will you marry me? I know it's not a romantic setting, but I know now that I don't ever want you to be gone from me. I couldn't bear to lose you. So, will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, I will. Oh, Adam, I love you."

When Ben returned with the carriage, Adam had another request. Could we stop by the minister's house on the way?"

"On the way? Adam, that route will take us quite a bit out of our way. I thought you would want to get home and get cleaned up and get some rest."

"Well, Pa, if you want to see us get married, you need to take us there. Otherwise, we're going on our own and you could miss the big event."

"You're getting married. But you could wait and have a big wedding in a few weeks."

"No, we decided we're getting married today. We can have a big party in a few weeks. We're doing this our way."

"Do you have a ring?"

"Yes, I got one a week ago thinking I would need it. Now I do."

Hoss chuckled. "Hey, Joe, he's already practicing his vows."

When they got to the minister's home, he was reluctant to perform the ceremony thinking it was too unorthodox and rushed.

"Reverend, we've been through a lot. We've been kidnapped, bound in a mine for a day and a half, threatened with death, and in general abused. We stuck by each other through all of it. We've talked of marriage but I wasn't sure I was ready for the commitment. I am now. Anita needs me tonight too. She doesn't want to be alone for a minute. I'll be there when she bathes, dresses, sleeps. I think it best if we're married when that happens, don't you?"

"But what of her family? Does she need her father's permission?"

"She's twenty-three, almost twenty-four, she can make her own decision."

"Twenty-one, almost twenty-two."

Adam looked down at Anita who shrugged.

"I'll talk to you later about that. She's still old enough to make her own decision."

"I suppose you would like to be married in the church."

"That would be nice."

"Very well, let me get my family together. We'll head over to the church with you."

As the minister gathered his wife and children to explain what was happening, Adam looked down at Anita. "You're only twenty-one?"

"Yes."

"Why did your father say you were twenty-three?"

"It doesn't make a difference to you, does it?"

"It might have at first, but it's too late now. Now answer my question."

"When I was younger, father would ask on my birthday how old I was. He would say how much I was growing up, and I added an extra year a couple of times. When I was younger, it let me do more sooner. It seemed like a good idea then. When I got older, I didn't know how to tell him what I had done, but I don't want to start our marriage out with anything less than the truth."

"Is there anything else?"

"No, I don't think so, although I admit I hadn't really thought about that until you mentioned it to the minister. I kinda got used to being twenty-three."

Ben was having a difficult time not smiling, but he knew he had to keep a serious demeanor because it was the only way to stop Hoss and Joe from ruining the solemnity of the wedding that was about to occur. They were going to have to hold their merriment about this until later. He did have one request though.

"Adam, do you think we have time to go invite Miriam, Bethany, and Pamela? I think it would be nice for Anita to have some ladies in attendance other than the reverend's wife."

"That would be nice. Yes, and while you're doing that, you could ask Paul and Roy too, but no one else." Adam paused. "And tell Roy he can't tell anyone where he's going. He can tell people after the wedding."

Of course, Roy had a good excuse with all that had happened. He simply said he was going to talk to Adam and Anita to get their official statement if he could. He guessed he wouldn't be able to get it, but his excuse was still good. Within an hour, everyone was assembled for the impromptu wedding. It wasn't at all what Ben had envisioned for his eldest son's wedding, but he was overjoyed he was getting married. The ceremony was short and by the book as no one had had any time to plan anything elaborate. Miriam had stopped at her store to grab some silk flowers so Anita did have a bouquet. She was still dressed in the clothing she had put on the day before and both she and Adam showed the effects of their ordeal, but their smiles made everyone forget that. Their joy transcended all those things as Adam leaned down to kiss his bride. There were congratulations all around, and Ben made sure that the reverend knew that there would be some donations of cash and beef coming from the Ponderosa for his services. Then he offered to buy dinner for everyone. Adam and Anita declined saying they needed to head home to clean up and recuperate. Ben offered to send a meal to them, but Adam said he thought they had some things they could eat and after the food they ate on the way back to town, they weren't hungry anyway. So Ben and Miriam gave them a ride to their home and made sure that the house was secure. Once they were inside and the doors were locked up tight, Ben and Miriam headed to the restaurant to have dinner with everyone else to celebrate the wedding.

Chapter 8

Inside their home, Adam wrapped Anita in his arms and held her. She relaxed in his arms and they said nothing and did nothing for several minutes. Adam broke the embrace to place a kiss on her cheek though and reminded her that they needed to heat some water.

"I ordered a large tub for your house. I think we can both fit in it."

Anita blushed at that suggestion. She had never seen a naked man, and the thought of bathing with Adam was a shock. He smiled at her and put a finger under her chin.

"We don't have to try that if you don't want to do it. It was a suggestion."

"Adam, I've never done anything except kiss. You're going to have to teach me."

"I'm going to enjoy that. Now let's heat some water for the bath. While that's on the stove, we can go up to your room and get some clothing for you."

"What about you?"

"I brought one change of clothing with me because I thought I might be spending last night in town. I'll be fine for one night."

"All right. Do you have a nightshirt then and anything else you need?"

"I have everything I need, and I don't have a nightshirt."

"You don't, but don't you need one?" Then she blushed as she thought about why he probably wouldn't need one. It was their wedding night. She had been waiting for this to happen, but then it had happened so fast she wasn't ready for it entirely. When they got back to the washroom and the tub, Adam began helping her undress. She shivered with that both out of nervousness and desire which began to build with the thought of what would happen that night. When her dress was removed, Adam started carrying water to the tub and noticed how slowly Anita was disrobing further. He knew she was nervous and said nothing. When he had poured all the water in the tub and refilled the kettles on the stove, he returned to the washroom.

"Do you want me to turn my back so you have some privacy?"

"Actually, yes, that would be nice."

He did until he heard the telltale signs that she had gotten into the tub. Then he moved there and asked if she wanted him to wash her hair. She hadn't even thought about anything like that and simply nodded. He used a cup to pour water over her hair and then worked the lather through it gently massaging her scalp and then her neck as she bent forward. He poured more water through her hair rinsing it before he used his fingers to comb her hair back again softly massaging her scalp as he did so. She closed her eyes and leaned back into the massage forgetting the view that gave him of her but remembered when his hands slid down the side of her neck and lower as his lips found hers. She forgot all about her nervousness about having Adam in her bath as she was more concerned about how long it took him to undress and join her there. Soapy hands touched and explored as they kissed. They were still damp a half hour later as Adam carried her to the bedroom and introduced her to the joys of being husband and wife. Then exhausted from their ordeal and fully relaxed and comfortable, Anita fell asleep cocooned in Adam's embrace. She never did wear that gown she had picked out to wear.

The next morning as the sun's rays irritated Anita's eyes, she woke and realized she was alone in bed. She looked around in a slight panic until she heard sounds in the room and realized Adam was there and shaving. He must have heard her stirring because he turned to her and grinned.

"I've been waiting for you to wake. I made a promise not to leave you alone, but it's been difficult to keep. There's work to be done, and I know we hired two people to work, but we haven't told them to start yet."

"As long as you've shaved, perhaps you would like to kiss me good morning."

He did. "Now, I would love to do more, but duty calls. We need to get out to your mine and get things reorganized. The men who were giving the orders are gone. I'm sure the foremen and day managers got things started this morning, but they'll need some direction once they hear what happened to the top men."

"It's our mine now."

"Yes, well maybe so. Your father may have something to say about that. Now we need to get going."

Their day was occupied with getting the mine reorganized after they sent a telegram to Anita's father. They did a quick promotion of two men to temporary managers. Adam knew one of them and he recommended the other. They were told that they could earn the positions if they did a good job. Then they headed to town to find a new accountant and to stop at the jail to give their formal statement to Roy. They notified the cook-housekeeper they had hired and the person who was going to do the outside work that they were to start immediately. Adam paid them their first week's wages in advance because of the short notice. It took days to go through the books of the mine to find what the previous managers had been doing skimming profits since they had been hired. It was skillfully done and consistent so that no one would have ever seen it unless they did something like Franklin had done and appoint an overseer who would compare mine output with the amount sold. When you added all the numbers, they didn't add up. Embezzlement was added to the kidnapping, assault, and extortion charges against the six men in jail. Their lawyers advised them to plead guilty and ask for mercy in order to get a lighter sentence.

After two days, Anita began to be nervous about her father's impending arrival. She had been rather brave about the thought of standing up to him and telling him she and Adam were free to marry whenever they wanted. However the closer it came to trying to actually say that to her father, the less she thought she would actually be able to do it. Adam told her not to worry because he would have no problem at all telling Franklin that very thing.

"Oh, Adam, we can't start our marriage with you fighting with my father."

"It won't be a fight. Anita, as far as I can tell, he wanted us to get married. We are. He should be happy about it. He's coming here and he'll be here for the big party."

"But he wanted to give me a big fancy wedding."

"Are you sorry you didn't get to have a big fancy wedding?"

"Oh, no, I loved our wedding. You know, the way you tell stories, that's going to be a great one someday. I can imagine you telling that story to our children."

"Are you trying to tell me something already?"

"No, of course not." Anita frowned. "I could be, couldn't I?" She frowned again. "How would I know before my belly grew out to here?" She pushed her belly out.

"Perhaps you and Miriam need to sit down and have a talk about that."

"It's funny. Father would never talk about things like that either. Considering what men like to do and how often," Pausing for emphasis and a big grin, she continued. "it is amazing that talking about it with a woman can make them so nervous."

Using his time-tested way of avoiding a difficult subject, Adam changed topics. "Do you plan to tell your father your correct age? You do know at some point in the future, it is likely to come up."

"Hmm, I suppose I should. But he's already going to be upset that I went ahead and got married without having him here and that the party will be here. I'm not sure."

"Perhaps we need to think of something that will placate him."

Thinking about that for a short time, Anita had an idea she hoped would appeal to Adam. "We have to make a trip to San Francisco anyway. Perhaps all three of us could go together. Father could host a party there where he has old friends. He could show us off at least for that."

After considering that for only a short time, Adam conceded that was a reasonable proposition. He told Anita that she ought to make that offer to her father. He knew it would probably ease the transition into handling the California side of the business too to have him there for the first meeting so that everyone could see it was amiable. They were in agreement then when Franklin arrived on Friday. Ben had suggested that he stay at the Ponderosa because they had the extra room. It was very diplomatic too leaving the newlywed couple their privacy. After lunch in town and a tour of the house with all the changes Anita and Adam had made, Franklin left with Ben. Early on Saturday, Adam and Anita traveled to the Ponderosa to spend the day with her father as preparations for the party continued until the early afternoon. Franklin made his displeasure known of course during all of this that he had not been at the wedding. Adam made it clear that the situation arose that made their getting married necessary. They had a serious discussion as the ladies were inside doing some last minute preparations.

"I don't see it that way, Adam."

"Sir, respectfully, we did, and that's what mattered."

"Are you going to be advising my daughter to run this division of the company this way? If there is a crisis, you two will make decisions as momentous as this without consulting me?"

"You put her in charge. If it comes to that and we decide that's what is necessary, yes, that's what I would do."

"You are very bold, young man."

"I am not so young. I have a great deal of experience in business. I think that's why you wanted me to marry your daughter. Luckily for you, we did fall in love and we do like each other very much. We have found that we can get along well, but I will not change who I am to suit you. If you don't like our business relationship, then you have the option of ending it. Anita and I have other options."

Franklin knew that they did, and the ones that worried him most were the same ones that worried Ben too. He feared that Adam might take his skills and talents and leave. That would mean Anita would leave too because Franklin could see how much his daughter loved this man. "No, no, I have no intention of severing our business relationship. I had not meant for her to act so independently."

"Then you should have drawn up the documents more carefully. We're following them as they were written."

Franklin smiled then. "I saw you reading those documents that morning. You had quite the poker face. I thought it meant that you found nothing bad so you weren't upset, but what it meant is that you found that you liked the wording and didn't want to let on to me how much you liked it. I should have read those documents more closely myself. I'm used to dealing with competitors. I wasn't thinking that I had to worry about my own daughter."

"No worries, sir. We would never do anything to harm you or your business."

"I do trust you on that."

"Thank you. It is important to me that people know that my integrity cannot be compromised."

At that point, Anita called to Adam from the house. He excused himself to see what she wanted. Ben walked out to take Adam's place on the porch and visit with their guest. He could see that Franklin was a little agitated.

"I've had many of those kinds of conversations with Adam. He does have a way of getting to the point and getting under my skin on occasion. He doesn't think about things the way I do, and it can take some getting used to his ideas."

"That is certainly the case, isn't it."

"Franklin, I'm not sure you know what you have unleashed in your organization. When I was much younger and I had the two boys, I was worried that something could happen to me and leave them alone in the world. The only thing that I could think to do was to teach Adam to be as strong, independent, and responsible as I could. He was a natural to be that way anyhow so it wasn't much of a challenge to push him. He embraced it and became like a partner to me even when he was very young."

"He became much like you. I sensed when I met the two of you that that could be the source of tension between you. You are the one in charge, and he chafes at taking orders."

"Yes, and add to that his curiosity about trying new things and his creativity, and you have a recipe for disagreements. We certainly have had our share of them over the years, and there will likely be more. However, I have to admit, the exchanges have often led me to some significant changes in my thinking."

"I can see changes in Anita already, and those are changes that I like. She is happier too. I certainly like that. When I saw her as the stage arrived, I was amazed at the changes in her. She was more ladylike but her smile was so beautiful. Somehow she seems more confident. I always had the feeling in the past, that she was scared much of the time. Now that is gone."

Although Ben had a good idea why that was true, he didn't say it. He would let Franklin figure that one out for himself. He did and thanked Adam for it. He liked the idea of having a party in San Francisco and was grateful that they had been that considerate of his feelings. As the visit progressed, the three settled into a comfortable relationship.

As for the other relationships, Ben and Miriam had a wonderful time at the party. He danced with her again and again until both of them needed a break. Escorting her to the garden where they could sit and enjoy the cool evening air, Ben was so bold as to put an arm around her shoulders. His heart began to beat a bit faster as she leaned into him and turned to him. Touching her cheek gently, he leaned forward until their lips touched, and he softly kissed her. It was their first kiss.

"Ben, you have been such a sweet gentleman waiting for the right moment."

"You're a lady. I have to treat you like a lady."

"Thank you for being willing to go slow. I'm not ready to go fast. I would like to continue as we have been. I like you, and I would like us to be friends and do things together."

"And in the future?"

"I think there can be more. I definitely want there to be more, but I have to be ready."

"I understand. I've lost three wives. It takes time to move on. I know you will never stop loving your husband."

Miriam's eyes got wide with that. Ben smiled. He had guessed part of her reluctance was the feeling that she was betraying her love for her late husband.

"I still love all three of my wives. I carry them in my heart and always will. How could I not love them. Each of them was an important part of my life. For you, your husband was with you longer than all of my wives were with me. That kind of commitment can never be forgotten."

"Oh, Ben, the Lord must have sent you my way. I don't think any other man would have understood like you do."

About that time, Joe and Bethany arrived. "Ah, sorry to interrupt, but Adam said you need to come back to the party. He said he's got an important announcement to make for Hoss. Hoss was standing there all red-faced and squeezing poor Pamela's hand so hard it's lucky if she doesn't have broken fingers by now."

"Do you think he asked her?"

"I don't know what else it could be. C'mon."

As soon as Adam saw them, he stepped up on a chair to get everyone's attention. Pamela's brothers had been called too. They stood near Adam and at least when he was on a chair, he was taller than they were so people could see him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Anita and I thank you for coming to our party to celebrate our wedding. But before you go, I want to propose a toast and offer you a bonus reason to celebrate. My brother, Hoss, or Eric Cartwright, has asked Pamela to marry him, and she has accepted. Please raise your glasses high and give a big cheer for Hoss and Pamela."

Soon the couple was engulfed by people offering congratulations. Even Pamela's brothers were offered good wishes for being able to marry off their sister to Hoss. They were pleased to get such positive responses from people. Each of them was wearing a new shirt to the party too. Virgil had been hired full-time on the Ponderosa after the work he had done. He was so strong that he could do jobs no one else could do or do the work of two men. Franklin asked Adam about one of the jobs Virgil had done that night.

"Adam, one of those large men who was near you carried off a couple of men tonight. I saw him. He literally picked them up and carried them off to where the horses and carriages were. One of your brothers usually walked off after him."

"Yes, you see I had six prominent businessmen in town arrested and they're going to prison. Some of their friends aren't too happy about that, and we suspected that after they had some alcohol, they might approach me to tell me about their unhappiness. It was up to my brothers and Virgil to head them off and send them home."

"Ah, I see. Very fortuitous to have such a man on the payroll. I'd like to hear how you met him. He doesn't seem the kind of man you would likely have as a friend."

"Father, Adam has all sorts of wonderful stories to tell. That will be one of them."

Smiling, Adam rubbed his ribs as he remembered meeting Virgil. That story wasn't quite funny yet, but he had been a good hire. It was time then for him to take his wife home and escort Miriam and Bethany to their home. Pamela said goodbye to Hoss and went home with her brothers. Franklin was tired and went up to bed. With the hands, Ben and his younger sons cleaned up. When they finished, they sat by the fireplace and enjoyed a brandy together and toasted Hoss. Then Ben asked Joe about Bethany.

"You and Bethany seemed to be getting along well again."

"Yes, she was impressed at how well I planned the rescue of Adam and Anita. She said I'm a brave man. I told her how we were helping out Adam tonight at the party. She liked that too. I think she's warming up to me again. Now, I have to keep my head and not do anything stupid."

Hoss smirked slightly and Joe sighed.

"I know. I know. I'll work on it. I'd like to get a kiss and that won't happen until she thinks I'm worthy of it. She's been taught well by Miriam."

"Ya ain't even kissed her yet?"

"No, we were getting close to that when I messed everything up. I guess I've still got a lot to learn about getting a first kiss that really matters."


End file.
